Nigel Farage today claimed the Tories have ‘betrayed’ Britain as he called for the UK to have ‘zero’ net migration and defended controversial comments about Muslims.
The newly-installed Reform UK leader, who has sent Conservatives panicking with his return to the political frontline, said immigration had ‘exploded’ in recent years.
The Brexiteer insisted certain sectors of the economy would have to put up with shortages in a bid to reduce the number of arrivals into the country.
Mr Farage claimed this would drive up wages and ‘encourage people to learn skills rather than heading off to university and doing social sciences’.
He also risked stirring up a fresh row this morning in a fiery clash with BBC Radio 4 Today presenter Mishal Husain.
Mr Farage doubled down on his view that a growing number of British Muslims ‘do not subscribe to British values’, which has been branded ‘ignorant and offensive’.
He also defended claims that there are some streets in Britain where ‘no one speaks English’.
Challenged about his remarks, Mr Farage replied: ‘I could take you streets in Oldham right now where no one speaks English.’
But he declined to comment on whether his own children spoke a second language, when asked how he knew people in Oldham were not multilingual.
The 60-year-old has vowed to lead a ‘political revolt’ against the Tories and Labour after his bombshell announcement that he will lead Reform for the next five years.
In a stunning U-turn, Mr Farage is also now eyeing a seat in the House of Commons and will later today formally launch his campaign to become MP for Clacton-on-Sea.
In a round of TV and radio interviews this morning, Nigel Farage launched a direct attack on the Tories over immigration numbers
The newly-installed Reform UK leader, who has sent Conservatives panicking with his return to the political frontline, said immigration had ‘exploded’ in recent years
In a round of interviews today, Mr Farage launched a direct attack on the Tories over immigration numbers and firmly ruled out a pact with Rishi Sunak’s party.
He told the BBC: ‘We have been betrayed by a Conservative Party that I gave considerable help to in 2019.
‘We were told that we would get control of our borders, we were told the immigration numbers would come down, they have exploded.
‘I feel betrayed by them, millions of voters feel betrayed by them.’
Mr Farage claimed the Tories were ‘well past their sell-by-date, the brand is ruined, they’ve lost the election already’.
He added: ‘We cannot go on as we are – we have to limit numbers.
‘Our lives, our quality of life in this country, is being diminished by the population explosion.
‘And if that means that in some sectors there’d be shortages, what that then means is wages will go up and we’d start to encourage people to learn skills rather than heading off to university and doing social sciences.’
Mr Farage stated his aim was to have ‘net migration at zero’, which would allow ‘room within the labour market for up to 600,000 people’ to come to Britain each year.
Latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics suggested that 1.2 million people migrated into the UK last year and 532,000 people emigrated from it.
This left a net migration figure of 685,000 for 2023.
In a later interview, Mr Farage suggested his long-term aim was to effectively take over the Conservative Party.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain he could not stand for or seek to lead the Conservative Party ‘as they currently are’.
But he added: ‘You can speculate as to what’ll happen in three or four years’ time, all I will tell you is if Reform succeed in the way that I think they can, then a chunk of the Conservative Party will join us – it’s the other way around.’
He pointed to Canada, where ‘Reform did a reverse takeover of the Conservative Party, rebranded it and Stephen Harper – who was elected as a Reform MP – became the Canadian prime minister for 10 years’.
He said: ‘I don’t want to join the Conservative Party, I think the better thing to do would be to take it over.’
Mr Farage last night used an op-ed for The Telegraph to argue that Britons are ‘furious’ at how both Labour and the Conservatives have approached immigration.
He added there is also ‘deep anger’ at the rate at which public services are ‘disintegrating’.
Mr Farage pictured accepting the leadership of Reform UK. He rocked Westminster when he announced he would stand as MP for Clacton
Election night could see Rishi Sunak’s party suffering the humiliation of a so-called Portillo moment with 12 cabinet members forecast to lose their seats
Mr Sunak suffered the darkest hour of his election campaign yesterday afternoon.
During a dramatic 60 minutes, the Prime Minister suffered a double blow as Mr Farage entered the fray and a new poll predicted a Tory wipeout.
Mr Farage, when announcing his bid for the Clacto seat, said the election needed a bit of ‘gingering up’, as he described it as ‘the dullest, most boring election campaign we have ever seen in our lives’.
Writing in The Telegraph, he alleged that the UK has been ‘failed by two main parties’ who have ‘conspired to accelerate our decline’.
He argued that neither the Tories nor Labour have a ‘plan to pull this country out of a deep economic hole’ and that both are ‘hooked on a deadly addiction to mass immigration’.
The Reform Party leader, citing alleged interactions with ‘patriotic Brits’ he met while campaigning last weekend, claimed that voters feel ‘sick’ at the Government’s ‘policy of betrayal’.
‘The people that I meet are furious at, first Labour, and now the Tories’ open-door approach to mass immigration, with some 2.5 million migrants entering the UK in the past two years alone,’ he wrote.
‘There is also deep anger that public services, from healthcare to housing, are disintegrating even as record peacetime taxes are levied on pitifully stagnant wages.’
He alleged there is ‘utter despondency’ that neither party will be forward a plan or leader that ‘offers just a shred of hope that things might improve’.
‘There’s no doubt that I have taken a big risk in giving up the life I enjoy to work for a vision of Britain so hated by our wrong-headed elites,’ Mr Farage added.
‘But the state of the nation has left me with no choice.’
The Prime Minister is preparing for his first televised debate with Sir Keir Starmer tonight. Mr Sunak is pictured outside Number 10, announcing the General Election
Sir Keir Starmer on the campaign trail. The Labour Party is on course for its biggest win in history, with the Tories reduced to just 140 seats according to polls
Meanwhile, the biggest poll of the campaign to date suggested Sir Keir Starmer is on course to eclipse Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide win.
The YouGov survey for Sky News predicted Sir Keir could claim a 194-seat majority, with Labour winning 422 seats to the Tories’ 140.
The result would reduce Mr Sunak’s party to its lowest number of MPs since 1906.
Mr Sunak launched a fightback today, with plans for an annual cap on immigration to cut the number of arrivals ‘year on year’.
The PM is also preparing for his first televised debate with Sir Keir Starmer tonight, in which he is expected to paint the Labour leader as an unprincipled politician willing to ‘say anything’ to seize power while hiding his true agenda.
Senior Tory sources last night insisted that opinion polls are painting an overly gloomy picture of their prospects.
One said: ‘The situation on the ground is significantly better than the polls would have you believe.’
But Mr Farage’s decision to fully commit to the election campaign dismayed many Tory candidates.
One described it as ‘a disaster’, adding: ‘To have any hope of holding on I need to squeeze my Reform opponent right down and that is just not going to happen if Farage is on the TV every day making their voters think they can win.’
Another former Cabinet minister paraphrased Churchill’s comments after losing the post-war election in 1945: ‘If this is a blessing, it is very heavily disguised.’
A senior Tory last night warned that the former Ukip leader ‘risks handing Keir Starmer a blank cheque to rejoin the EU, impose the Retirement Tax on pensioners and hike taxes on hardworking Brits up and down the UK’.
But Mr Farage predicted Reform could now win ‘many, many more votes’ than the four million recorded by Ukip at the 2015 election and said he expected to attract disenchanted supporters from both parties.
Mr Farage has replaced Richard Tice (pictured) as leader of Reform in a major U-turn
Mr Farage had ruled out making an eighth bid for Parliament when the election was called last month, saying the short timescale did not give him enough time to prepare.
But, in a major U-turn yesterday, he announced he was replacing Richard Tice as Reform leader and running as a candidate in Clacton, which experts believe is the party’s most winnable seat.
Defending his decision he said: ‘I’ve changed my mind, it’s allowed.’
Mr Farage said there had been a ‘massive betrayal’ of Brexit, and that people were urging him to stand. ‘I can’t turn my back on the people’s army,’ he added.
However, the latest mega-poll last night predicted Reform would win no seats at all.
His return to front-line politics came as:
- Labour was accused of letting down women and girls after it rejected Tory plans to protect single sex spaces;
- Home Secretary James Cleverly warned that Labour would turn the UK into a ‘global magnet for migration’;
- Diane Abbott accused Sir Keir of telling ‘more lies’ about her;
- Penny Mordaunt was asked to deputise for Mr Sunak in a seven-way TV debate on Friday where Angela Rayner will represent Labour;
- Former Neighbours star Holly Valance attended Mr Farage’s press conference and said she was willing to campaign for him on the doorstep.
Mr Farage yesterday vowed to turn the contest into an ‘immigration election’ –and highlighted the sharp rise in legal and illegal migration in recent years.
Today’s plan proposed by the Tories to ask MPs to vote on an annual cap on visa numbers is designed to address public concern over the issue.
For the first time, the Government’s immigration advisers will be asked to consider the impact of greater migration on issues like the housing crisis and access to health and education when making recommendations.
Writing in the Mail today, Mr Cleverly warns that backing Reform is equivalent to ‘a vote for Labour’, adding: ‘If Reform gifts Sir Keir Starmer the keys to No 10, people smugglers and those looking to game our generous system the world over will prick up their ears.’
According to the poll big names including Jacob Rees-Mogg (pictured) are likely to lose their seats
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt could also lose her seat according to the YouGov/Sky News poll
The sophisticated poll which analyses results down to constituency level, predicts that the Liberal Democrats will quadruple their seats, the SNP will collapse and Reform will win no seats – though it was conducted before Mr Farage announced he was standing.
It has the Tories losing 232 seats, Labour gaining 222, the Lib Dems gaining 40 and the SNP losing 31.
This would give Labour a majority of 194 seats – an increase on Sir Tony’s majority of 179.
The poll – which redraws the political map – predicts several Cabinet ministers are on course to lose their seats to Labour or the Lib Dems.
They include Welsh Secretary David TC Davies, veterans minister Johnny Mercer and Attorney General Victoria Prentis.
Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, Chief Whip Simon Hart and minister for common sense Esther McVey could also lose their seats.
Other big names including Jacob Rees-Mogg are likely to lose.
Labour is set to make gains across all areas of England, holding more seats than the Conservatives in London, the North East and the North West.
They are also expected to make huge gains in Scotland, leaving the SNP with just 17 seats.
Labour’s predicted 194-seat majority would be the highest since Stanley Baldwon a majority of 208 in 1924.
The first of three YouGov MRP polls of the election campaign collected data from more than 58,000 people.
I’m launching a revolt, he said. A deal with Rishi? Not on your nelly!
By David Churchill, Chief Political Correspondent for The Daily Mail
Nigel Farage said he wanted to lead a ‘political revolt’ as he announced he was standing as an MP for Reform UK in a dramatic U-turn yesterday.
Revealing he will run in the Essex seat of Clacton, he also said he will take over as Reform leader from Richard Tice.
But Mr Farage was warned that, by running for election, he risks handing Sir Keir Starmer a ‘blank cheque’ to reverse Brexit.
It also creates a headache for Rishi Sunak as Mr Farage’s popularity threatens to split the Right-leaning vote deeper, allowing Labour to seize dozens of seats without a fight.
Previous polls already predicted the insurgent party could cost the Tories as many as 50 seats.
Nigel Farage said he wanted to lead a ‘political revolt’ as he announced he was standing as an MP for Reform UK in a dramatic U-turn yesterday
Last night, a Tory party spokesman said: ‘Nigel Farage risks handing Keir Starmer a blank cheque to rejoin the EU, impose the Retirement Tax on pensioners and hike taxes on hardworking Brits.
‘Farage knows that Reform won’t win any seats, but he doesn’t seem to care that a vote for Reform only helps Labour. He’s doing exactly what Keir Starmer wants him to do.
Just yesterday, European Union insiders voiced their expectation that Starmer would seek a softer Brexit deal, opening the door to rejoining the EU.
‘That would mean uncontrolled immigration and betraying the will of the British people. Only a vote for Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives can deliver a clear plan and a secure future.’
But Mr Farage defended his decision to stand, saying the Tories were on course to lose the election anyway.
‘Not on your nelly,’ he replied when asked if he was open to a pact with Mr Sunak to stand down candidates in some constituencies, having struck such a deal with Boris Johnson in 2019 to help hand the Tories an 80-seat majority and deliver Brexit.
He insisted Reform could win more votes than the Tories, but refused to say how many seats he thought his party would secure.
Meanwhile, the biggest poll of the campaign to date suggested Sir Keir Starmer (pictured yesterday) is on course to eclipse Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide win
He said his ‘real plan’ was to overtake the Tories as the party of opposition in the next Parliament, conceding Sir Keir will win.
Revealing that he intends to lead Reform until at least the end of the next Parliament, he added: ‘We’ll be the biggest party at the 2029 general election.’
He said he wanted to lead a ‘political revolt’, adding: ‘Yes, a revolt. A turning of our backs on the political status quo. Nothing in this country works any more.’
The former MEP and Ukip leader has repeatedly ruled out running as an MP, but said he changed his mind on Sunday after campaigning with Mr Tice the day before. ‘What really shook me was the number of people on the streets saying, ‘Nigel, why aren’t you standing?’
‘I began to feel an enormous sense of guilt . . . I can’t let down those millions of people. So, I’ve changed my mind.’
